67's owner Jeff Hunt said he realizes the sensitivity of the issue but thought the league would consider the circumstances of this particular incident. Liscomb and Downie are friends who began the season as teammates with the Windsor Spitfires and roomed together during road trips.

"I would have thought an offence against an official would be a greater than something said in the heat of battle between two friends on the ice," said Hunt.

Hunt said he would speak with OHL commissioner Dave Branch about the matter.

The reality for the 67's is they won't have Liscomb for the rest of the series and really can't afford to have him gone from the lineup.

Ottawa coach Brian Kilrea said yesterday he'd probably wait until this morning before deciding how to juggle the lines to compensate for Liscomb's absence.

Liscomb works on the team's top unit with veteran centre Julian Talbot and right winger Chris Hulit.

To make matters worse, Hulit, who scored 32 goals during the regular season, has been sick for the past week and left the ice during yesterday morning's practice.

"He couldn't get out of bed one day, and another day he couldn't eat anything," said Kilrea.